Outkast rapper Big Boi faces drug charges

AP - This image provided by the Miami-Dade County Corrections and Rehabilitation Department shows Antwan Patton, also known as Big Boi, after his arrest on Sunday.

MIAMI — Miami police arrested Outkast rapper...Big Boi on Sunday for possessing
ecstasy and other drugs that the performer's lawyer later characterized as "contraband."

Media reports cited the Miami-Dade County Corrections Department's website as listing the rapper, whose real name is Antwan Patton, as having been arrested for having ecstasy, MDMA powder and Viagra, for which he had no prescription.

The Miami Herald reported that Big Boi faces a fourth count of possession of drug paraphernalia. Celebrity website TMZ.com said he was arrested by customs officials exiting a cruise ship, and that he'd been booked into jail in the afternoon but was released after posting a bond.

On the singer's official Twitter account, Big Boi initially tweeted "Fresh Out Baby!" and later, "...they said it was the Love Boat..." But details of the arrest could not be confirmed on Sunday evening.

An attorney for the rapper issued a statement saying he expects Big Boi will beat the charges.

"While Big Boi was traveling with his group and friends, a small amount of contraband was found in the collective luggage," attorney Daniel Kane said in a statement.

"I am confident when the entire facts are aired Big Boi will be completely exonerated."

{Outkast was formed by Andre' Benjamin (who later became known as Andre 3000) and Patton (Big Boi) in the 1990s with a distinct brand of southern-influenced hip hop music...}

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters.TODAY News

HIV medicines 'boost prevention'

The HIV drug tenofovir

 
By Helen Briggs Health editor, BBC News website

 

HIV drugs can be used to boost protection against HIV as well as treating symptoms after infection, research suggests.

Two studies in Africa add weight to previous data showing drugs used to treat HIV can reduce infection risk when taken daily.

The World Health Organization said the studies could have "enormous impact" in preventing HIV transmission.

The findings were revealed in the run-up to an AIDS conference in Rome.

"This is a major scientific breakthrough which re-confirms the essential role that antiretroviral medicine has to play in the AIDS response," said Michel Sidibé, executive director of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

"These studies could help us to reach the tipping point in the HIV epidemic."
 
Future hopes:
One trial, carried out by the University of Washington, US, followed almost 5,000 couples in Kenya and Uganda, where one person had HIV infection and the other did not.

"If you're currently trying to stay HIV negative don't give up on the condoms yet”

-Lisa Power Terrence Higgins Trust-

The uninfected person took a daily HIV medicine (tenofovir), a combination of two HIV drugs (tenofovir and emtricitabine), or a placebo pill.

There were 62% fewer HIV infections in the group on the single drug and 73% fewer HIV infections in the group that took the combination, compared with those given a dummy pill.

The other trial, conducted by the United States Centers for Disease Control, followed 1,200 HIV-negative heterosexual men and women in Botswana. They received either a once-daily combination tablet or a placebo. The HIV medication reduced the risk of getting HIV by about 63% overall.

A previous trial found the combination of two HIV drugs reduced the risk of infection in gay and bisexual men by 44%. But a similar study in women at risk of HIV infection in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa produced disappointing results.
 
New tools:
The HIV charity, the Terrence Higgins Trust, described the latest findings as "genuinely exciting".

Head of Policy Lisa Power told the BBC: "Pre-exposure prophylaxis is not going to be available overnight but we are exploring whether it is one of a range of things that can drive down onward transmission of HIV."

But she stressed that the findings needed to be properly tested and trialled.

"If you're currently trying to stay HIV negative don't give up on the condoms yet."

The WHO and UNAIDS recommend that people make evidence-informed decisions on HIV prevention options.

They say no single method is fully protective against HIV and antiretroviral drugs for prevention need to be combined with other HIV prevention methods such as condoms.

"Effective new HIV prevention tools are urgently needed, and these studies could have enormous impact in preventing heterosexual transmission," said Dr Margaret Chan, the WHO's Director-General.

"WHO will be working with countries to use the new findings to protect more men and women from HIV infection."

Full details of the studies will be presented at the meeting in Rome.
BBC News

Philly Saved $2 Million by Not Prosecuting Small-Time Potheads

-WAR ON DRUGS-

Max Read — Hello, cities facing a budget crisis! If you would like to spend less money, might we suggest not taking small-time marijuana busts to court? Philadelphia did it last year, and the city saved $2 million. Plus, think of all the money you can make if you tax Snoballs!

 If you're caught possessing fewer than 30 grams of weed (that's, like, a whole ounce!) in Philadelphia, cops now treat the bust "as a summary offense, rather than a misdemeanor." Though the misdemeanor charge wasn't particularly harsh—maximum penalty: 30 days in jail and $500 fine—it required the city to prosecute, costing the district attorney's office money and time. It also left those busted with a criminal record.

The summary offense meanwhile, allows people to "pay $200 for a three-hour class about drug abuse, and their record is expunged," with "[n]o trial, no judge, no court-appointed defense attorneys, no prosecutor, no lab tests." Cops say that the new policy "doesn't appear to be having any noticeable impact on the city's quality of life," too.
GAWKER